The South Indian film industry has churned out many patriotic films over the years. Although, this genre has become quite rare lately, some filmmakers still seek inspiration from this genre to fill us all with a sense of pride. And what better time to list a few of these films that instill patriotism than on Republic Day? To celebrate our country’s 70th Republic Day, let’s take a look at the best South Indian films that made us want to keep our national flag flying high.

KAALAPANI

Kaalapani, directed by Priyadarshan is undoubtedly a real gem of a film. The film, released on 6th April 1996, is the story of a doctor, Govardhan (played by Mohanlal), who is wrongly accused of bombing a train and thus jailed at Port Blair by the British officials. The film highlights the sufferings of many Indian prisoners, including the leading participants of the freedom movement. The film also stars Tabu, Vineeth, Prabhu Ganesan, Sreenivasan, and Amrish Puri.

ROJA

Mani Ratnam’s highly acclaimed 1992 film; Roja continues to strike a chord even today as one of the best romantic-thriller centered on national integration. The story of the film revolves around a cryptologist Rishi (Arvind Swamy), who visits Kashmir on a project with his new bride Roja (Madhubala). Things take a sudden turn when Rishi is abducted by a terrorist group whose agenda is to separate Kashmir from India. Ratnam’s breathtaking portrayal of the war-torn land always ignites the feeling of bringing home peace. The other captivating factor was, of course, A.R.Rahman’s scintillating background music that elevates the entire movie. Roja was Rahman’s debut album that made the world notice the music wizard he truly is.

MAHATMA

Possibly one of the best patriotic films of the Kannada film industry, Mahatma was directed by Krishna Vamsi and starred Srikanth as a rowdy man Dasu, who causes disruption in the society and later turns into a responsible citizen. The film centers on the philosophy of Mahatma Gandhi: ‘be patient, be congruent, be authentic and be your true self.’ The film weaves a deeply brazen story around the greed for power and money. Mahatma is an attempt to define what exactly ‘Gandhi’ stands for and to what extent we have been neglecting his principles.

PICKET 43

Directed by Major Ravi, Picket 43 is a film laced with patriotism. Unlike other patriotic films that revolve around social themes, wars and gunfights; Picket-43 captures the lives of two isolated soldiers, from India and Pakistan, who have newly taken charge at their respective outposts. The film features Prithviraj and Javed Jaffrey as the two soldiers. The film also pans through the personal lives of the army men who leave their sorrows of missing their families to protect the nation. The on-screen chemistry between Prithviraj and Javed Jaffrey is the main highlight of the film.

KEERTHI CHAKRA

Keerthi Chakra is a 2006 film directed by Manoj Ravi, in his directorial debut. This movie stars Mohan Lal as the protagonist of the film with Jiiva in the supporting role. This film is based on true events that transpired in Kashmir with the insurgency of the Indian State. The plot revolves around Major Mahadevan (Played by Mohan Lal) being asked to counter terrorist attacks in Kashmir along with his fellow NSG commanders and in a sudden turn of events, all of their fate changes. This movie was highly commended by many critics and was a box-office hit.